


Vacant Soul

by jachaelas



Category: Manifest (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, F/M, Heartbreak, Love Triangles, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:09:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21861991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jachaelas/pseuds/jachaelas
Summary: Knowing she was going to say yes to him five and a half years ago was one thing, but Jared Vasquez having to watch the love of his life fall for someone else was a whole new kind of pain.
Relationships: Michaela Stone & Jared Vasquez, Michaela Stone/Jared Vasquez, Zeke Landon/Michaela Stone
Kudos: 26





	Vacant Soul

**Jared's POV**

6 years had passed. 6 years since I got down on one knee in the middle of central park and asked the love of my life to marry me. 6 years since I slid the ring onto her finger and felt like nothing could ever come in the way of Michaela and I. 6 years since we went home and Michaela told me that she wasn't sure if she could go through with it and that she needed time to think everything over.

I understood, and booked her flights to Jamaica. Only a few days later I was kissing her for the last time before she headed to the airport with her family. The days Michaela was away were like torture for me, and we called every night. I'm not sure if anything could've prepared me for the moment I got the call from Grace, who I could hardly understand. By the time Lourdes and I arrived at the airport the security level was so high that it was nearly impossible to get inside. I remember that moment, when we realised that they knew what had happened.

Two and a half years. That's how long I spent not even looking at another woman. I couldn't bear to, not if there was even a tiny chance that Michaela was still out there. Never in my life did I think that Lourdes, of all people, would be the one I ended up with after Michaela. I'd known her nearly as long as I had known Michaela, and we were always good friends. Telling Lourdes I loved her wasn't hard, because it was true, however proposing to her was one of the most difficult things I had ever done. I went to Michaela's grave that morning, setting down a rose and talking as if she could hear me. It felt like I was betraying Michaela by proposing to someone else, and for weeks after Lourdes said yes it was the only thing I could think about. The wedding hit me harder, knowing that could've been Michaela and I. I got annoyed with myself for thinking about what Michaela and I should've had together, but eventually came to the conclusion that I was to blame for her taking the later flight, and even going to Jamaica in the first place. 

When the plane came back I was in complete shock, and didn't properly believe it. After it sunk in a little, I realised that I couldn't face Michaela yet. I didn't want to see her for the first time in over five years and have to tell her that I was married to her best friend. In hindsight, I should've gone to the hangar to be there for her. Instead I made a completely selfish choice, and stuck my head in work to avoid having to tell her. The look on her face when she found out I had married Lourdes was one I had only seen a handful of times, and it broke my heart to say the least. For weeks Michaela seemed off, and I had assumed it was because of the amount of change she'd been going through. After nearly losing my job and then being caught up in an explosion, the only thing I wanted was to see her. She stayed up all night with me, making sure I didn't need anything and helping me call my family. It was only 10 days later that we slept together, and although both of us regretted it, we knew it had been inevitable. Michaela didn't want me to talk to Lourdes about it, but of course she found out anyways and left.

I had a weird feeling about Zeke as soon as I met him. He and Michaela and some kind of 'connection', which was related to the plane in some way. I didn't trust him being around Michaela, and when I found out that he'd hurt someone in the past I realised I wasn't going to let that happen to Michaela. I was adamant that I wasn't going to lose her again. When I went to Michaela's apartment I planned on just finding the drugs he bought and proving to Michaela that she couldn't trust him. I never expected it to end in Michaela getting shot.

Zeke stood completely stunned, as I scrambled over to Michaela, taking off my jacket and using it to put pressure on her abdomen which was covered in blood. I knew that calling an ambulance would take far too long, so I sped to the hospital with Zeke in the backseat, and Michaela who was lying across the other seats in the back, crying out in pain a couple of times a minute. Both Zeke and I tried to reassure her that she'd be fine, although it seemed like we were really only trying to convince ourselves. I carried Michaela bridal-style into the hospital, before waiting hours to find out if she would make it. She was the strongest person I knew, and as the rest of Michaela's family arrived they told me that as if I had no idea. 

When Michaela finally came around, the only person she wanted to see was Ben. He talked to her about the expiration dates he'd found out about, and a sudden wave of guilt came over me. I didn't go in to see her, knowing that if I hadn't gone to see Zeke none of this would've happened. She saw me pass by her window, so I gave her a weak smile and left. It took weeks for me to gather the courage to go visit her, only dropping in to give her flowers or leave her something from her favourite takeaway place when I knew she'd be asleep. When I went to see her at Ben's house (where she'd been staying until she recovered), she barely talked, and didn't look me in the eye once. I tried focusing on work, but when I dicovered that Zeke had turned himself in and was going on trial for assualt and attempted murder I was unable to get anything done. Michaela hadn't been back in the precinct for long at all, and I could tell she was making it hard for her new partner, Drea.

Drea Mikami is easily one of the kindest people I've ever met, which makes it hard when I have to watch Michaela be so hard on her. I knew she was just going through a lot so I didn't say anything, and instead made sure that when I was around the young detective I made sure to explain that Michaela wasn't always like that. Since Zeke had got out on bail before his trial, I noticed Michaela acting slightly chirpier, even making Drea smile. We sometimes had to work together on cases, and Michaela usually said as little as possible. However one night as I was getting ready to leave, she asked if I could work on as case with her. Of course I said yes, and we ended up working until nearly everyone else had left, even laughing a few times. It felt like the old us, which is when I realised what I had to do.

When I was called to testify in court, I could see Michaela look at me as if I'd betrayed her. When I started talking about how Zeke was defending himself, and how I was to blame for all of it she seemed stunned, and I gave her a weak smile after I'd finished talking. 

'Why did you do that?' Michaela asked, after the trial ended and Zeke's name had been cleared.

'I didn't want to hurt you any more than I already have,' I replied before leaving, swalling the lump that had formed in my throat.

Over the months that followed, Michaela and I gradually grew closer and often went out for drinks after work with Drea. One night, we were working after dark together, just the two of us. We sat at Michaela's desk and I opened a drawer to grab a case file, when I saw something small and round. Pulling it out, I realised what it was.

'You kept it?' I grinned, holding up the baseball that I'd caught for her when I'd taken her to her first game.

'Of course I did,' She smiled, before we both went silent for a minute. I looked up at her as she bit her lip a little, before standing up and grabbing her phone.

'I should go,' Michaela said quickly, giving me an apologetic nod as she left.

It had been nearly a year since the flight had returned, and I knew that now was a better time than ever to start things back up with Michaela. Luckily for me, she'd left her badge on the desk, giving me the perfect excuse to go over to her apartment. I was slightly nervous knocking on her door, but when she opened the door I forgot what I had to be scared of.

'Jared?' Michaela's expression changed and she looked unhinged.

'You left your badge at the precinct.' I explained, handing it to her.

'Oh, you didn't have to,' She laughed.

'I wanted to see you, actually.' I shifted a little, as Michaela gave me a confused look.

'I was going to ask if you-' I stopped talking when I heard a voice from the bedroom.

'Michaela? Who is that?'

I recognised the voice, and it was only confirmed for me when Zeke walked over and Michaela looked down at the ground.

'Jared,' She spoke, in barely a whisper.

'Got it.' I nodded, leaving hastily and getting back into my car.

I vowed to myself when the plane came back that I would never lose Michaela again, but now I know I should've seen all along that I was never going to be more than a friend to her after she came back. She was nicer to everyone when Zeke got out on bail, and got closer to me when the trial was over. I realise now that she was happier because of him, and I'd seen all the signs and didn't even try to win her back.

__

She'd fallen for someone else, and I was going to have to live with that.


End file.
